All Forum Posts by: Maximilian Marck

I am not currently in the Charlotte area, but I will be starting in June. My understanding is that competition is significant in Charlotte proper, and because of that (and also because I will be in Belmont, not Charlotte), I plan on wholesaling and subsequently rehabbing in Gaston County. Part of my reasoning for this is because it seems like more investors are looking to expand out of Charlotte because of the competition, and so Gaston county may become (in fact I think it is already starting to become) a hot spot for investors, both buy-and-hold and rehabbers, which should provide sufficient demand to actively wholesale Gaston county properties.

@Derrick Adams I look forward to working with you. When I make my way down there I'll let you know.

I think you're absolutely right about buying a house as a way to get started, but for various reasons, it is not an avenue I can pursue for a while. In addition, at this point my strategy is going to be largely wholesaling and rehabbing to start out, while I slowly accumulate rentals. 

I really appreciate your wisdom. I am actually going to be in Belmont (about 20 minutes from Charlotte); any idea what the competition is like in the areas outside Charlotte? From what I understand most of these areas are fairly competitive. 

Recently, I have been focusing on developing a solid business plan and some smart goals. I am moving to Charlotte N.C. this summer for school, and I will also be investing (wholesaling if funding is not forthcoming, rehabbing if it is). My plan is based on some money that I inherited. I have enough set aside for 2 semesters worth of tuition, room and board, so my expenses beyond that will be minimal apart from books. This leaves me roughly $7,000, but to be on the safe side, I am keeping my budget down to $4,000. So, with $4,000, here is my plan:

Phase 1: June/July 2017 (Summer Semester)- Groundwork

• Continue market research with "boots on the ground" (I have been reading as much as I can about the Charlotte area market)
• Join local REIA, contact local investors to build a solid network, and find potential JV partners for flips
• Start Marketing around mid July

Phase 2: Mid July-December 2017 (Fall Semester)- Marketing, Wholesaling

• Start with Bandit signs
• Facebook ads
• Drive for dollars

Goals:

• Net $15k in wholesales by 2018
• Net $15k on at least 1 flip
• Hit the ground running

As you can tell, it's a fairly rudimentary plan that has room for improvement. That's why I'm bringing it to you guys! Please feel free to criticize and suggest changes. I think my goals are reasonable and fairly conservative, since I am very motivated and have a very strong work ethic, but if you think I should change them (either more or less ambitious) let me know. I know my last goal (in bold) is fairly vague, but it's really the underlying philosophy behind the whole plan. Furthermore, if you think there are marketing avenues that I should look into, please let me know. Thank you in advance; I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Hey everybody. I'm going to my first REIA meeting tonight. I don't plan on getting started actively looking for deals until next summer, but I am chomping at the bit and want to get my feet wet a little, so I am going to a meeting. Any thoughts?

@Dumitru Anton

That's awesome. Have you done that?

We have all heard how fake most of the house flipping TV shows are. But are there any that are good? It probably wouldn't be interesting to the general population, but I think it would be interesting to a smaller niche. Anybody know of some? Could be on good ol' fashioned TV or on youtube or elsewhere online.  

Thank you all for your responses; they are very helpful. I plan on going to a few upcoming local REIA meetings. @Habar Orkibi, you touched on a point at the end of your post that I would appreciate some input on. The way I see it, there are two primary things I can bring to the table: I have a very strong work ethic, and I am really passionate about investing. I also have a little bit of money (roughly $7000) which, although it's not much, it shows that I am serious. So before I post something to the more general community, does anyone have any tips on "selling myself" to potential partners? Thanks again everyone, I am always impressed with the generosity and wisdom of BP.

Another option is to form a partnership with a more experienced investor (which is what I am working on). The college I am attending requires that I live on campus, so house hacking is not really possible for me right now. In any case, my business model is based more on flipping rather than buy and holds, so what works for me may not work for you.

I usually try to read one thing that is more general that relates to mindset/personal development, but right now I'm reading two. In addition, I am reading at least 2 books on investing at any given time and usually a few miscellaneous books. Right now my roster reads something like this

• How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie (I very highly recommend it; its spectacular)
• The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod (heard about it on the BP podcast)
• The Classical Liberal Arts of Trivium, an anthology compiled by John Martineau
• Rich Dad, Poor Dad (again) by Robert Kiyosaki
• The Book on Investing with No (and Low) Money Down by Brandon Turner.

This is a little bit more than I usually tackle at once; I like to keep my reading more focused, but all of these books are very interesting and most are pretty easy to read. 

Let me begin by saying that I recently upgraded

to Pro, and I already feel like I have gotten my money's worth. This community is invaluable for providing insight, education, and confidence for aspiring investors like myself. 

I am currently in the process of developing my business plan and laying out a path to that coveted first deal, and there is one particular step with which I am not sure how to proceed: partnerships. In my studying so far, some people have said "you should find deals then bring them to potential partners" but others have said "you should find partners to help you find deals." So for those that started out with a partnership, how did you breach the catch-22: "I need deals to get a partner, but I need a partner to know what deals I can make?" 

I am a sponge of information, so any other insights relating to partnerships (or anything else for that matter) are welcome and appreciated!